Spraying vinegar in the air works just as effectively as using any fancy spray that can cost $5 or more for one bottle! Vinegar is much cheaper but equally effective at removing virtually all odors but for a small fraction of the price.
Better Ways to Freshen the Air
Vinegar – White vinegar is an effective natural deodorizer and mild disinfectant. Combine a teaspoon of vinegar with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle then lightly mist the air (you can also stir in a few drops of essential oils).
There are several ways that you can use vinegar to help naturally clean the air in your home. What is this? For starters, you can easily deodorize a room by simply placing a bowl of vinegar into a corner and letting it sit for a few hours.
So, does boiling vinegar actually clean the air? The short answer is no, as far as current scientific research is concerned. Acetic acid, the active component of vinegar, is capable of killing pathogens, but only through direct contact.
Almost Indefinite Shelf Life
And while changes can be observed in other types of vinegars, such as color or the development of a haze or sediment, this is only an aesthetic change.
Acetic acid makes vinegar an excellent tool for pest control, repelling some of the most common backyard nuisances and even killing weaker insects. It's most effective against ants, spiders, and mosquitos.
Alexandra is a former digital editor for MarthaStewart.com. Vinegar is a homekeeping must-have. It can whiten your white laundry, wash your windows and mirrors, drive out pests, eliminate odors, remove stains, and more.
Short-term Exposure: Acetic acid vapors cause irrita- tion of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. Inhalation of concentrated vapors may cause serious damage to the lining of the nose, throat, and lungs. Delayed breathing difficulties can occur. Contact with concentrated acetic acid may cause severe damage to the skin.
'Leave a bowl of vinegar out overnight,' advises Saskia Gregson-Williams, cookbook author and founder of Naturally Sassy. 'In the morning, the vinegar will have absorbed all the unsavory smells and your kitchen will be as fresh as a daisy. '
Apply Lysol® All-Purpose Cleaner to the coils on the back of the unit and scrub with a stiff brush. Wash the air filter with a disinfecting cleaner like Lysol® Hydrogen Peroxide Multi-Surface Cleaner.
Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.
Vinegar. The pungent smell of vinegar is also a natural way to repel mice and rats. These pests cannot stand the sharp scent of vinegar, which means it can be used as an effective rodent repellent.
Many pests don't want anything to do with vinegar. It's known to help repel ants, spiders, and other pests. You can also use vinegar to remove scent trails created by foraging ants. This can confuse ants and make it harder for them to return to your home.
Vinegar can keep animals out of your yard.
Deer, as well as other animals, “including cats, dogs, rabbits, foxes, and raccoons, [don't like] the scent of vinegar even after it has dried.
All About Vinegar
Unfortunately, it doesn't actually kill these problem insects. It's more of a cleaning tool than anything else, and it won't actually help eliminate your roach problem. It can, however, help deter roaches and get rid of germs in the kitchen when used as a cleaning agent.
Dilute vinegar with water in a spray bottle in equal amounts and then spray in areas where spiders had previously been active. The acetic acid in the vinegar is harmful to spiders but the strong odor of the vinegar alone will be enough to keep spiders away.
If you're worried that cleaning with vinegar will make your home smell like pickles, don't worry – the smell disappears pretty quickly, especially if you air out your space properly. Open windows and doors to encourage air flow. Once dry, you'll find that vinegar leaves a fresh scent.
But there's one thing we're a little less crazy about: that smell. Yeah, vinegar can be seriously pungent, and even if the smell does dissipate over time (which it totally, totally does), we very much understand that you might not have the time to wait, or might just not want to.
“Set time,” or the time a disinfectant must rest on a surface in order to work effectively, is also important. The set time for vinegar can be up to 30 minutes.